This application is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/735,430, filed Apr. 13, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,585,547, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS TO FORM THIN LAYERS OF MATERIALS ON A BASE, ” which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/744,827, filed Apr. 13, 2006; and this application is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/037,076 filed Feb 25, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,541,067, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS PROCESSING OF BUFFER LAYERS FOR GROUP IBIIIAVIA SOLAR CELLS”, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/891,443, filed Feb. 23, 2007, which applications are expressly incorporated by reference herein.